The rich may not be able to get richer in 2007, but they sure have a great chance of staying rich.
The NFL is entering a different period of free agency. Plan B in the late 1980s was a preview. It gave teams the taste of being able to bid for players even though teams controlled the fate of more than 30 they wanted to keep. The early and mid 1990s offered the chance to experiment. Some experiments succeeded. Others failed. By 2000, it was pretty evident championship teams could be purchased through free agency.
The new era of free agency will turn more toward maintenance than acquisition. The cap increases to $109 million this year and there won't be enough top players in free agency to merit that much money.
The good news is that teams can keep most of their top free agents. The bad news is the price will go up.
This new world will create new strategies. Now, teams have the luxury of placing a franchise tag on their top free agents. The price of the top players to hit the market will skyrocket, making for a fast market at the start of March. It will be hard for any team to get more than two or three high-priced free agents.
Teams on the rise are the Titans, 49ers, Cardinals and possibly the Packers. The NFC West is rapidly improving. The NFC North is the league's worst division.
The league is also heading into a period of coaching instability. As many as 11 franchises have coaches on the hot seat.

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